


[Discontinued]

by at_the25annualputnamcountyspellingbee



Category: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - Finn/Sheinkin/Reiss
Genre: College AU, F/F, F/M, M/M, this is based off of an idea from mmahinadraws on tumblr who said I could use this idea!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-04-17 15:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14192511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/at_the25annualputnamcountyspellingbee/pseuds/at_the25annualputnamcountyspellingbee
Summary: I’m revamping my college au and making it a new work.  I won’t delete this, but this fic is discontinued!  A college au fic with an actual plot is coming.





	1. Logainne Knows Things

"There is no way I'm letting you go on that date. No. Nuh uh, no. It's a bad idea!"

Ugh. Olive knew it had been a mistake telling Logainne her evening plans. During the three semesters they had been roommates, she had proven herself to be uptight and opinionated, which was all very well and good when it had nothing to do with Olive's personal life.

She scoffed and continued looking for her eyeliner. "It's a date, Schwartz. We're not getting married. He seems sweet and he's a nice guy."

"Charlito Tolentino? We're talking about the same person, right?" A lisp crept back into her voice. "Believe me, Olive, I know this guy, and not for any good reasons."

"One date. It's one date. That's all I promised." She gave up on finding her eyeliner and picked up her purse.

"That's what every girl promises him, and they've all ended up in his bed. I don't want you to be just one more notch on the bedpost! If you really want a guy from the pre-law track, for whatever reason, I could find you a better one! Just not him. Not the guy who sleeps around and doesn't commit. I hear the gossip, I know the news, I'm well aware of what happens. Girls don't stay in his life. I don't want to see you get hurt like this."

She softened. Logainne really did care, as she was well aware, but the worry in her voice was convincing. "I'll tell him it's just this date. Dinner and nothing else. You and I can hit the town afterwards, just to make sure I don't do anything stupid. Meet me at the ice cream shop at eight?"

"Okay. If you won't call it off, that'll work."

Olive's phone buzzed.

[CHIP]: would we be able to reschedule? I realized I have a paper due tomorrow that I should proooobably get done

She laughed. Logainne gave her a look. Olive sighed and showed her the message.

"He can't do tonight. Ladies night?"

Logainne let out a sigh of relief. "You've been spared, praise the Lord. I'd love that."

[OLIVE]: lol that's fine  
[OLIVE]: tomorrow, same time?  
[CHIP]: could we do a Saturday? Thursdays are a bad time for me  
[OLIVE]: yeah! see you then  
[CHIP]: can't wait! sorry again for bailing :(

"I heard about this clothing store by that one sandwich shop you like. Apparently all the stuff there is handmade and the owner can tailor it to fit in-store!"

"So that's our destination?" Olive asked.

"I always verify gossip," she said.

\-------

Olive really didn't know what to expect, as Logainne's drive to confirm all gossip she heard had led them to both great and terrible things in the past. Logainne had insisted on driving. The campus was on the edge of a nice little town, full of pretty, antiquated architecture and a heavy concentration of local businesses. The storefront looked like many others, with a faded wooden door and a large display window. A mesh body form displayed a plain brown dress with a patchwork vest that, somehow, actually looked nice. Logainne, determined to find out what was lying in store, pushed the door open.

The room was surprisingly spacious. Racks lined the walls, and the clothes hanging on them were organized by color and type. She saw the descending lines of tops, skirts, pants, and dresses.

"I like this place already," Logainne whispered.

Down the center was a display of fabric swatches. Curious, Olive approached it and felt a small square of green fabric. It was velvety to the touch. Logainne stood next to her, flipping through a photo album next to the display. "No way," she murmured in disbelief. Olive glanced over to see what she was looking at.

A woman wore a black and white medieval-style dress. It looked beautifully made, and it seemed to exist in stark contrast with the dress in the window. Olive turned the page to reveal a man modeling a navy suit jacket with matching pants. "These are handmade?" She wondered aloud.

"Yeah! I think that was a request last.... April? I've got some more recent stuff if you flip to the back of the album!"

Olive jolted and took a step back, bumping into the person behind her. She stumbled forward into the table as they stepped to the side. "Sorry!" She said, turning to see who she was talking to.

"You're fine! I'm clumsy too." A tall ginger guy grinned down at her. "Leaf Coneybear! I'm one of the owners. I do the sewing!" He thrust his hand out for a handshake, which Olive timidly accepted. His enthusiasm was overwhelming.

"Olive Ostrovsky," she managed.

"Nice to meet you!" His handshake wasn't particularly strong, but he shook hands with enough energy to make up for it. He turned to Logainne. "And you are?"

"Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre. Who are the other owners?" They shook hands.

"Uh, there's just one. My sister Marigold manages the business side of things." He shrugged. "I don't understand that stuff, so she takes care of it."

She nodded. "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask some questions about your business. I occasionally write articles for our paper on campus, and I think your store is worth writing about." 

He grinned. "Really? Yeah, that'd be great! Lemme get Mari, cause she knows more than me." He ran through the doorway at the back of store. Olive continued to flip through the album while Logainne pulled up a recorder on her phone.

"I guess I'll browse while you interview? Are you going to actually write an article?"

"Of course! I'm considering this a gossip success. I'm big on shopping local and businesses like these are important for a healthy economy."

Olive laughed. "And you're sure you're a pre-law person? You sound like you belong on the econ track."

"I believe in being a well-rounded individual. My dads always told me that an informed voter is unstoppable."

"You really took their advice to heart." She flipped the page and looked over the delicate wedding dress shown. "God, this is absolutely gorgeous. I still can't believe this guy sews like this."

"He's friendly, and it feels like more than customer service politeness," Logainne noted. "That's what I love about local businesses. Owners, and by extension, employees, genuinely care about what they do and it shows."

"And now you sound like a textbook."

"I'm right, though."

"True," she conceded. Right then, Leaf returned with a similarly tall and freckled girl.

"This is my sister, Marigold. She handles all the fancy business stuff for me! Mari, this is Logan-"

"Logainne," she corrected.

"Right, thanks! Logainne. She wants to write an article for the paper at her college!"

Marigold gave her a skeptical look. "You're in college? You look fifteen, no offense."

"I'm eighteen and a sophomore on the pre-law track."

"And you write articles?"

"Yes, I'm a firm believer in civic participation. Though, my friend Olive is an English major, so I have her revise everything I write." She pulled Olive up next to her. "I heard about your shop by word of mouth, but an article would get you a lot more publicity."

"Well, if it's free," Marigold relented, losing her previous edge. "What would you like to know?"

"I- is it alright if I record the conversation? I find it more useful than trying to write everything down."

"Absolutely. If you're recording, we'll talk upstairs where it's quiet. Here, go through the doorway and up the stairs on the left." She set a hand on Logainne's shoulder and led her away. Feeling a little awkward, Olive moved to a rack on the right wall and looked through the skirts. It was only supposed to be mindless browsing, but a light pink poodle skirt caught her eye. She took it off the rack to take a closer rack.

Leaf walked over to see what she was looking at and nodded appreciatively. "I'm a big fan of vintage and retro stuff," he admitted. "I take a lot of inspiration from it." Upon closer examination, Olive realized it wasn't a poodle but a cat in the corner.

"Cat?" She asked.

He smiled and she noticed the wide gap between his front teeth. "I really like cats. But," he said, bringing himself back to a more business tone, "if there's another animal you'd prefer, I've got several designs drawn up that can replace it."

"Oh, no, I love cats," she said, admiring the skirt. Hesitantly, she asked, "Is there a dressing room here?"

"Yeah! There's one and it's not huge, but up the stairs and to the right, it'll be the right hand door." Noticing her confusion, he cheerfully added, "Here, I'll just show you!"

"Thank you." Leaf walked her to the stairs and pointed her in the right direction. There was a sign on the door that read "DRESSING ROOM" in a messy scrawl. She pushed the door open and stepped inside.

In all honestly, it was probably a renovated storage closet. Two people could fit in at the most. A cheap mirror hung on one wall and a Command hook on another, obviously to hold hangers. She slid her jeans off and examined the skirt, trying to figure out how to put it on. After determining that the waist stretched, she stepped into it and shimmied it on. It made it about halfway up her thighs. She sighed and hung it back up. Pulling her pants back on, she returned to the rack and searched for where she had found it.

"Well?" Leaf asked enthusiastically.

She shook her head. "Didn't fit."

"Oh! That's no problem." He took the skirt from her and laid it on the counter next to the register. "Where's the- found it!" Holding the tag (which was tied to the hanger) with one hand, he dug around under the counter with the other. "SK3," he murmured. Pulling out a binder, he thumbed through the pages. He scanned the page. "Okay, that pattern." He looked up at Olive. "If you want, I can take measurements and make you the skirt in your size!"

"You can? Does that cost extra?"

"No! Same cost as this one right here. It'll be done in, mmm gimme two days! Lemme grab measuring tape and I'll just need a waist and leg measurement!" He dug around under the counter again and pulled out a tape.

As he took measurements, he asked, "So your friend came here on a mission. Why'd you come along?"

"Uh, my date got rescheduled and we're having a girls night out. She's my roommate. Schwartz is big on uncovering the truth about gossip. Though," she added, "I've never seen her this excited about a place."

"Really?" He scribbled something down onto a piece of paper. "Do you guys do stuff like this a lot?"

"Whenever we have spare time." She laughed softly. "I think she keeps a list of things to investigate."

"That's cool! Wow, I didn't realize roommates could be that close! I have a friend on campus, and he and his roommate don't do anything together." He took a measurement of her leg length and stood up. "Hey, maybe you know him! Or your friend, cause he's in pre-law too. Chip Tolentino? Nice guy, my sister's ex-boyfriend."

Her eyes went wide. "No way. That's the guy that rescheduled on me! You know him?"

"Wow! That's cool! I can't believe we both know him! Yeah, they dated a few years ago. Then Mari realized she was gay and dumped him, but we're still friends!"

Her head was spinning with all of this sudden info. "This is unbelievable."

"I know!"

"Wait! You said two days for the skirt, right?"

Leaf nodded.

"We rescheduled for Saturday. I can bring him with me when I come pick it up! It'll be an extra day before I get it, but I'll be in town anyway."

"That sounds great! Do you want to be rung up now or when you get it?"

She considered it. "I'll just pay now. How much was it?"

"Thirty five." He made change as he talked. "Thank you very much! Hopefully your friend'll be done soon!"

"You've got a lot of great stuff here! I'll have to come again." Before she forgot about it, she sent a text to Chip.

[OLIVE] not to interrupt your work but could we drop by Unsewn Treasures on Saturday? I've got a thing to pick up and since you apparently know the owners I thought you'd like to come with!  
[CHIP] sounds great!  
[CHIP] tell Leaf I said hi!  
[OLIVE] will do!

"Chip says 'hi'," she told Leaf, who grinned widely.

"Great! Well, if there's anything else-"

"OLIVE! WE HAVE TO LEAVE NOW SO I CAN WRITE!" Logainne charged down the stairs and, taking Olive by the arm, pulled her to the door. "Thankyousomuch! We'llbebacksoon!" She called back. She dragged Olive out, frantically typing on her phone. "Can you drive?"

"Yes. Where'd you park?"

"By the flower shop! C'mon, hurry! The sooner I get to a computer the better this will be!" Without looking up, she headed in the direction of the car and avoided obstacles with impeccable skill. Olive sighed and hurried after her. Oh well, she'd be back on Saturday.


	2. Does Chip Like Guys?  No One Knows, Including Him.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will seriously judges Chip for his habit of using women, though this time it's a different situation.

“Lemme get this straight.” Will shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “You're going on a date with a girl to win favor with her roommate so you can ask her a question?”

“Yes.”

“And there's no one else you can ask about whatever the hell it is?”

“It's something I know Logainne’s the expert on, but I'm pretty sure she hates my guts, so I need her to at least tolerate me before I can ask her.”

“That makes perfect sense,” he mumbled. “Why do I need to come along?”

“If you come, I can tell Olive to bring her roommate, or a friend because they're friends too. If I get the chance to talk to Logainne early on, then I won't be leading her roommate on for awhile and won't have to feel as guilty.”

“I'm glad you finally care about women’s feelings, but there's probably an easier way to do this.” Will flipped a textbook page. “You're both pre-law. Don't you have like three classes together? Be less of a dick than normal and ask her after class ends.”

“Okay, you know that won't work. Logainne is a gossip queen and she most likely knows everything I've done, good or bad.”

“Mostly bad, if it's gossip.” Chip threw a pillow at him. Will swung it back at him. “If you stopped fucking every girl who looked twice at you on campus, you wouldn't have this problem.”

Chip shut his computer. “Shut the fuck up, Barf. It doesn't even matter, my sex life is gonna be like, nonexistent in a week.”

“Are you dying or something? What the hell is happening to my roommate the romancer? What's so serious that you have to talk to this person who supposedly hates you, not that I blame her, about?”

“Complicated stuff, Barf. Real complicated.”

“What's Logainne good with?” Will asked rhetorically. “Law, school in general, gossip, clubs…. President of the-”

“Forget I said anything! I have a paper to write.” Chip opened his computer and typed furiously.

“Are you gay?” He asked, though his normal malice was gone.

“Augh! You know what? Fuck you, I'm gonna tell you, and when you're stuck with a new roommate next year that isn't half as clean as I am, you're gonna regret it. I don't know what the fuck is going on with me in the slightest!” He voice rose steadily as he ranted. “I'm mediocre in my class, can't commit to a relationship even though girls are so cute, the target of plenty of hateful rumors, do you KNOW how many people think I've got like, syphilis or something? And if I do like dudes, I don't know what the fuck to do! Nobody’s told me how to deal with that, and worst of fucking all its my ex girlfriend’s brother! He's hot and adorable and the ENTIRE reason I'm in this mess because I don't know if I like because I don't know what it feels like to like a guy or if I even like guys! So fuck you, I'm going through a lot of shit and Logainne is the only person I know who could possible talk me through this whole gay or bi or whatever the hell thing I've got going on!” He snapped back to his laptop screen, fuming.

There was a moment of silence from Will. “I didn't mean to drag that up. Please don't change rooms, you're the only person I know whose living standards don't give me an asthma attack.” He sneezed.

He hadn't meant to yell at him. Yeah, Will could be a dick, but he wasn't actually making fun of him and seemed kind of sorry for making him snap. That was unusual, because both of them were pretty aggressive people by nature and things tended to escalate very quickly in fights. Wait. Had Barf actually listened to him? He seemed more sympathetic than someone who had just been shouted at normally would be. He sighed. “Sorry for yelling.”

“No, I get it. Sounds rough, dude. If it's any help, I'm free on Saturday. I'll go if you need me to.”

“I'll talk to Logainne after class tomorrow. I should probably try that first.” He laughed. “God, what the hell was I thinking with this whole thing? I'm a fucking idiot.”

“Yeah, that's true. Good luck getting out of this one, Tolentino.”

Chip flipped him off. “I've got a paper to write. Leave me alone.”


	3. It's Not Hard For Rumors to Spread When You Yell a Lot, Chip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chip talks to Logainne finally, though not in the way he expected.

There was no need for Chip to approach Logainne after class, because she was at his breakfast table. She was talking very fast. Too fast.

“I just woke up, like, ten minutes ago. Slow down.” He took a sip of coffee and blinked. Last night was a blur because he had stayed up too late finishing his paper.

She pulled out her phone. “I'm not kidding when I say EVERYONE is talking about this! You're trending on Twitter!”

That was enough to catch his attention. His dazed mind tried to make sense of what she had just said. “I'm what? Why? What did I do?”

“Your fight with your roommate last night was apparently loud enough for pretty much everyone on your floor to hear. A lot of people had audio clips on Snapchat, and it sort of spread from there.”

“My fight with… I didn't- oh shit.” He stretched and leaned back in his chair. “That explains why you're talking to me, then. Fuck, everyone’s gonna think I'm gay now. Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“I was surprised that you knew what bisexuality was,” Logainne admitted.

“I, uh, found it when I was trying to figure shit out, but I dunno. I don't feel like it fits me.” He shrugged. “That's why I'm in this mess, because I don't know what the fuck is up with me.”

“I still can't believe you tried to use my roommate just to talk to me. Am I really that unapproachable?”

“I'm not answering that. I don't have the best ideas sometimes. Wait.” He froze. “How much of that, uh, fight got recorded? This could be really bad.”

She searched through her phone. “Well, this one ends with indistinct mutterings and it sounds like you're done yelling. Why?”

With his face in his hands, he muttered, “I yelled a lot of incriminating stuff about possible feelings for someone that makes up pretty much all of my reasons for questioning.” He sighed. Fuck, this was a bad thing to wake up to.

“Okay. So you're not sure if you like guys.”

Hesitantly, he said, “Yeah.”

“You say there's a guy you think you like. Why do you think you like him?”

“Wh-what? Why should I tell you this?” He folded his arms across his chest, a little embarrassed. Though the rational part of his brain failed to work, his emotional side picked up the slack.

Logainne sighed. “You said it yourself: I'm the only one that can help you through this. But, if you don't talk to me, I can't do anything to help. Are you working with me or not?”

“Oh, yeah. Ugh, this is so weird.” He was careful to lower his voice as he spoke. “I… I dunno. I want to be around him a lot, and I wanna touch him, and I think he's cute and handsome and nice… If that makes sense? I don't know how to word it really.”

Her mouth hung open. “Oh my god. There is no straight explanation for that in the slightest. At the very least, you seem to be romantically attracted to him. I suppose sexually is up for debate really, but it wouldn't surprise me.”

Her words went right over his head. “What? You can separate those two? How? What does it even mean?””

With a frustrated “hmph”, she pulled a notebook and a pen out of her bag and started scribbling. A minute later, she turned it around to show Chip. It was a Venn diagram with three different circles. One was labeled “Straight”, the second “Gay”, and the third “Asexual”. The overlap between “Straight” and “Gay” was labeled “Bisexual/Pansexual”.

“This… raises more questions.”

“Okay, I'll try to be brief. You know what straight, gay, and bisexual are. We just won't bother with pan right now. Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction. Similar to that is aromanticism, lack of romantic attraction.”

“All…. right. And where do I play into this? Where do I fit into this?”

She tapped her pen on the “Bisexual/Pansexual” overlap. “I think it's safe to say you like girls. I think you like guys the same way.”

Chip sighed. “Yeah, probably.”

“Now, this might be a little out there, but you know the whole aromanticism thing I talked about? It plays in here a little. You sound like you really want to date this guy. From everything I've heard, it doesn't go quite that way with girls.”

“I-I-uh…” Shit. She was right. He never actually thought about anything past one or two nights with anyone, and damn, girls were cute as hell, but the idea of, well, dating one just didn't appeal to him.

“So maybe you're bisexual, but you only want a romantic relationship with a guy.”

“How do I explain that? I don't think my date’ll want a lecture.” He felt a little nauseous. What would people think? Though, in all honesty, maybe it would be better for him to say it before rumors could spread too fast.

“It depends. You can say you're bi, you can say you're gay, you can say you like dudes… However you want to present yourself to the world.” She pulled the chart back. “And I know the guy you mentioned. Go for it, he's gay.”

“You what? How-wha-why?”

“Ex-girlfriend’s brother? Leaf Coneybear? Olive and I were at Unsewn Treasures last night and we met him. I talked to Marigold and one of the important notes I have about the store is that it's a LGBT owned business. Then Olive told me the whole thing about how you guys know each other, and after that video, it all came together.”

He leaned back in his chair again. “Oh my god. Fuck, I, fuck. Shit, I gotta go see him, I need-”

“Calm your tits, Tolentino. There's no race. Maybe take today to get used to the whole liking guy thing and go woo him tomorrow.”

“It's too early in the morning for this. I'm gonna- I need a nap before class.”

She checked her watch. “Good luck with that. Twenty minutes until a class that requires a ten minute walk from here. Try more coffee, that usually works for me.”

Chip sighed and took his last sip of coffee. “Great.” He pushed his chair back and stood up. “Well, uh, thanks for that. Probably good that someone told me about that whole thing before class. I'm going, I'm getting a refill. See you in class.”

“Oh, and if you need someone to sit with anytime, my table is always open.”

He paused. “What?”

“I'll be honest. Coming out voluntarily is rough enough and with this whole thing, I'll admit I'm a bit worried about how people are going to act around you. You're the source of a lot of campus gossip on a normal basis. People have already shown how they feel online. Some of that is bound to leak into real life. By the way, skip social media for today at least. Just trust me about that. It's ugly.”

“Oh, fuck.”

“Also, I sit with Olive at lunch if you want to apologize about the date situation.”

With a tired grunt, he nodded. “Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks.”

“Chip?” She said, a little hesitantly.

“Hmm?”

“I'm sorry about this whole thing. I didn't realize how unapproachable I was. I don't hate you in the slightest, it's just that I didn't know anything besides rumors. That's on me. I'll see you in class.” Logainne left without giving him time to answer. He blinked, sighed, and went to get more coffee, which he felt he would need to get through today.


	4. Marcy Park Does Whatever She Wants

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logainne and Olive eat lunch and are approached by both Chip and someone who went to high school with him. Logainne falls a little in love with the new girl.

Logainne was more that a little surprised when a really cute girl approached her and Olive’s lunch table. They always took a small two-person table, but it was in one of those areas where you could easily shove another table up to it and make it bigger.

“Logainne, right?” The girl asked.

She nodded, a little distracted by her eyes and her hair and her lips and oh she was cute. “Yeah, uh, that's me.”

The girl sat down at a neighboring table. “You wouldn't happen to know where Chip Tolentino is, right? It's kind of a long story that you probably know, but we went to high school together and I gotta say, I fucking called it. Knew that guy wasn't straight.”

She blinked, trying to process what she just heard. “Uh, he might be dropping by here within the next ten minutes or so. Were you two friends or-”

“Oh, hey, there you- fuck!” Chip approached the table and immediately stopped when he spotted the girl. “Marcy? You go here still? I thought you would've dropped out by now.”

The girl (Marcy, apparently) flipped him off. “You're just upset because you know I could've been valedictorian if I actually cared. You didn't earn that title, I let you have it.”

“Okay, we can have this fight later, because I've got some actual important stuff to do right now.” Seeing that the closest seat to Olive was at Marcy’s table, he awkwardly slid the chair over. “Hey, Olive. I, uh, I came over to apologize, because I pulled a pretty dick move and I was thinking more about myself than your feelings at the time and that was bad. I'm sorry.”

“Wow, great apology. How long did you rehearse that?” Marcy asked.

“Fuck off, Marcy,” he said.

Olive laughed a little. “It's sweet of you to apologize, but really, the situation’s a little too funny for me to be upset. And Logainne’s briefed me on the entire situation. The store owner, he really lit up when I told him you said hi. I think you've got a chance.”

“I'm glad you're not mad, but why are you guys trying to play wingman?”

“Because,” Logainne said, pulling out her phone, “the sooner you get a boyfriend, the sooner you stop causing so much heartbreak on campus.”

“So when I told Chip to get a boyfriend, he tried to punch me. Why's he listening to you two? What did I do wrong?” Marcy leaned closer to Olive and Logainne’s table, accidentally giving Logainne a good look down her shirt. Her cheeks red, Logainne coughed and looked at her plate to try and refocus herself. It wasn't like her to be so distracted by someone cute. What was up?

“I was fifteen and afraid to publicly question my sexuality, Marcy! Do you have any kind of idea what people I hung with in high school?”

There were plenty of cute girls on campus. There were even some in the GSA she ran. But no one had ever caught her eye like this. Maybe it was the fact that love was in the air with all this romance talk. Maybe it was the incredibly queer vibe she was giving off. When she had sat down at the table, she had a few books with her, Fun Home and a volume of the Federalist papers. The very casual intersection of her appearance, her books, and her belongings made Logainne suspect that she was both not-straight and a casually smart person. For heaven’s sake, the Federalist papers were buried under a lot of stuff, and someone attempting to appear intellectual wouldn't put a comic memoir on top of their stuff, would they?

“Wait, how long have you been questioning?” Marcy asked. “I was making a joke. You took that seriously.”

Gah, she was overthinking this. Perhaps it was just that she was cute and hot and attractive, and perhaps she was finally ready to look for a relationship.

“I'm not having this conversation,” Chip said.

“Can we have a conversation about how someone heard you jacking off in the boys locker room in junior year, then? Because that's pretty much the only thing I remember about you.”

His eyes went wide. “They what? Wh- how? When? Why didn't I know that someone knew?”

Olive was following the conversation with a concerned expression but an overall intrigued expression.

“Your mistake was saying when, because that implies you did that more than once. Why are you like this?”

“Listen, high school was rough for everyone.”

“Your definition of rough doesn't fit most people, Chip. People do not cope with problems by masterbating in school bathrooms.” She froze. “Oh my god, it was the baseball pants doing you in. Poor hormonal high school Chip was surrounded by athletic guys in tight pants. You didn't stand a chance.”

He threw his hands up. “Fine! I was too scared to admit to myself that Briar MacArthur had a nice ass and that I was getting hard for him all the time, so I'd hide in the last stall and jack off and freak out because I hated myself and I wasn't sure what was happening with me and I refused to let myself even remotely consider the fact that I wasn't straight until now, five years later! Are you satisfied, Marcy?”

“I think you should ask that guy you all were talking about because you've severely repressed this part of yourself. Go love a guy, Chip. It's only what I've told you to do since I met you.”

“Are you two friends?” Olive asked, trying to change the subject at least a little. They both laughed.

“Hell no,” Marcy said. “Rivals is the only accurate words.”

“Rivals,” Chip agreed. His phone buzzed. He checked it. 

[Will] what the hell did you do? I went to check Twitter and there is a video of our fight on there and a lot of people are talking about you

“Oh, speaking of rivals. It's my roommate, asking me why everyone in our year is posting about me on the Internet. Lovely.” He fired off a quick text.

[Chip] gotta love our dorm building, dude. people next to us heard the fight and put it on snapchat. spread from there. people weren't expecting me to like guys, I guess

[Will] yeah no shit

[Will] I've been asked how I feel about sharing a room with a gay guy. They used a much worse phrase though.

“Who's your roommate?” Olive asked.

“William Barfee. He's a psych major, I doubt you'd know him.” He checked his phone again. “Oh. Gotta run. Stuff to do, places to be. Nice talking to you, and again, I'm really sorry about the whole mess.”

“Really, it's no-” Chip jogged out before she could finish. Olive sighed. “Well, that was something.”

Marcy watched him go. “He's always been a weird guy. Honestly, I was surprised to see him becoming the campus catch. Chip was a fucking nerd in high school.”

They both looked at her, surprised. “A nerd?” Logainne repeated.

“Well,” she shrugged, “not like the stereotype exactly. He dressed decently and he had a group of friends, but he was a very academic person. Didn't do social stuff that much. And he played sports, but as far as I knew, he wasn't the greatest at baseball. I don't think he had a girlfriend until that one chic during senior year. I forget her name, but the day he got dumped was fucking hilarious. It took awhile before the rest of us knew, but apparently she had a lesbian awakening and broke up with him.”

“Marigold?” Olive suggested.

Marcy snapped her fingers. “Yeah! Yeah, I knew it was a weird name. It threw everyone for a loop cause she was like, two years older and he was some scrawny bastard with no social sense. She went to our high school, but she was in college when they dated.”

Logainne made a face. “I couldn't imagine dating a high schooler now. That's just weird.”

“I know, right? I mean, they kinda knew each other, but in the I’ve-said-a-few-words-across-the-hall way. She's really hot. And really smart. Definitely too good for him.”

“What about her brother, Leaf? Did you know him?” Olive asked.

She laughed. “God, I think everyone knew Leaf. He was a goofball and a sweetheart. I don't think he went to college. I heard he was running his own business, actually.”

“He is,” Olive confirmed. “He and Marigold have a shop in town, Unsewn Treasures. It's a cute little place. We were just there yesterday.”

“Nice! Maybe I'll drop by sometime and say hi.” She leaned closer to the pair. “Now who was this guy Tolentino’s after? I only heard the liking guys thing. Not a word about who he likes.”

“It's Leaf,” Logainne said.

Marcy’s jaw dropped. “You're kidding. Oh my god, that's beautiful. I mean, his chances are good. Leaf was THE gay guy in high school. Nobody else was really out.”

Logainne frowned. “Only one?”

“Small school. I didn't care about anyone or anything in high school so I didn't bother coming out. I just focused on schoolwork until, eh, senior year.”

She was about ready to pass out. Oh my lord, coming out? Marcy liked girls? This hot, smart, funny girl that was talking to her liked girls? Her little bi heart was going to stop beating any moment now,

Noticing Logainne’s silence, Olive picked up the conversational slack. “What happened senior year?”

“I realized that I didn't have to be the perfect child my parents were forcing me to be. I didn't give up, but I had more fun. I purposely did bad enough to let Tolentino slip past me and get valedictorian.” She checked her watch. “Oh, shit. I've got class in five minutes. I should go.”

“Uh, okay. See you!” Logainne said.

Marcy paused. “I was wondering if I could get your number? So we could talk more sometime?”

“Me?” Logainne asked. “Yeah, yeah, uh, h-here!” She pulled out a pen and scribbled it down on a napkin. She handed it to Marcy with a shaky smile.

Marcy took the note coolly and smiled back. “Thanks. See you.” She walked off. Logainne noticed the sway in her step.

“Geez, Logainne. You might want to cool it with the staring,” Olive teased.

Her head jerked up. “What?! I'm not- I wasn't- staring?” She squeaked. Oh, she was fully aware of how her eyes had followed Marcy’s flowing skirt and long, athletic legs as she left. But she wasn't ready to admit to her roommate that she had been utterly swept away by this new girl.

Olive rolled her eyes. “Okay, sure.”

Logainne knew she was blushing. “I should get to class. I, I'm, I should get going.” She grabbed her tray and hurried off. Today had been a whirlwind of activity and information and she was starting to get overwhelmed. Her class didn't start for half an hour, but she needed to go clear her head.


	5. Chip is Way Too Repressed for This Shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years of repression is a lot. Chip is, understandably, a little eager to go out with Leaf.

Marigold was startled out of her normal morning routine by a knock on the door. Strange. It was the back door. She closed the register and made her way to the back of the store. She cautiously cracked the door open. Outside was Chip, anxiously holding a handful of flowers. With a sigh, she opened the door. “It's seven in the morning, Chip. Why are you here with flowers?”

“They're not for you!” He blurted. “Is, uh, is Leaf around? I needed to ask him something.”

“Oh my god.” Her eyes widened. “Are you asking my brother out? I thought you were straight!”

“Iiiii am not straight! I like dudes, and your brother is really cute! I wanted to ask him out on a date tonight, and can I please come inside before I talk myself out of this?”

She sighed and let him inside. “He's upstairs. Just knock.”

“Thank you,” he said, before slipping past her and bolting up the stairs. Before he knocked, he took a deep breath in and waited until he was thinking more clearly. Once he had calmed his nerves, he carefully knocked on the door to Leaf’s apartment.

“Just a second!” He heard Leaf shout. The door opened and there he was, with only a towel wrapped around his hips. “Oh, Chip! Hey, what are you doing here?” 

Chip’s breath caught in his throat. Fuck, he was hot. Leaf was skinny and gangly, his scars were still visible, and he was covered in hundreds of freckles that speckled his skin from head to toe. Short red hairs started at his navel and assumedly stretched well past the towel. Of course Chip had seen guys shirtless before, but not Leaf and definitely not when he was ready to admit that he just might like guys. It was an appealing sight for sure. There was so many details to take in before he could manage to say anything.

Leaf noticed the handful of flowers. “Flowers? Who are those for?”

That spurred him into action. “They're for you!” He stammered, holding them up for him to take. “I was kinda wondering… I know it seems weird, and really sudden, and God, everything has been like that recently for me, but would you want to go out tonight?”

Leaf took the flowers and considered them, a smile playing at his lips. “A date?” He asked. “I'd love that!”

He twisted his fingers in the fabric of his shirt. “I was thinking the pizza place on third street at six? Would that be alright?”

“That'd be perfect,” Leaf said with a comforting smile. 

Chip felt himself relax. The hardest part was over. He could do dates, especially since he knew Leaf already. Now he just had to wait until six. Eleven hours, he could do it. “See you tonight!” He said.

“Can't wait,” Leaf said, and it was such a genuine statement that Chip’s heart melted.

On his way back down the stairs, Chip realized that he felt good. No, he felt great! All his life, he had been afraid to even think about this part of himself, but so much stress and pressure had disappeared by finding this out. He didn't even care about what everyone thought of him right now. He had a date tonight with the cutest guy he had ever met, and he knew of three people on campus that didn't hate him completely because of his feelings. That constituted a win. 

He drove back to campus feeling giddy. His heart had always been clearly visible on his sleeve, and today was no exception. Time flew by, and the few people that gave him shit today were brushed off with a eye roll or a snort. At lunch, he hesitantly approached Olive and Logainne’s area. He was warmly welcomed by the pair. Although his earlier impressions of Logainne had been less than pleasant, he was slowly beginning to realize what a great person she was. She worked hard and cared a lot, more than he could ever manage to. And she was genuinely upset with herself over the fact that he had thought she hated him before. Olive was also a sweetheart, and she was good at making him feel welcome.

During lunch, Will texted him again.

[Will] (1) where did you go his morning because you woke me up and (2) did you change spots at lunch? where did you go?  
[Chip] I scored myself a date tonight and I'm sitting with Olive & Logainne, the two people that don't look at me weird whenever I'm around  
[Will] ? With who and okay. You were just. gone and I was a little concerned.  
[Chip] that dude I was talking about.  
[Chip] and if ur that worried then come over here. it's okay, I'm not dead  
[Will] we are both very much creatures of habit and you changed your habit okay of course I'm going to be worried. I'll be fine.  
[Chip] are you sure? olive seems like your type  
[Will] my type?  
[Will] what?  
[Will] I don't have a type  
[Chip] she's cute, sweet, and really fucking smart man. English major. I know you like books.  
[Chip] just come over and say hi.  
[Chip] im throwing you a rope, man. fuckin take it.  
[Will] ….. Fine.

“Okay, my roommate was worried about me, so he's making sure I'm alive by coming over here.”

“Roommate?” Olive asked. “The psych major?”

He nodded. “Yep. He likes books - don't ask me what kind because I don't know - and he's also minoring in dance for some reason. We got paired up randomly and since we both have similar standards of cleanliness and we haven't killed each other yet, I'd consider us great roommates.”

“Hey,” Will said. Chip turned.

“There you are? See? Alive and well. This is Olive, and that's Logainne.”

Olive waved shyly. Logainne extended her hand to Will. “You've got quite a roommate,” she said to him.

“You can say that again. Nice to, uh, meet you in person.” They shook hands awkwardly. Chip quickly took the seat next to Logainne, forcing Will into the seat by Olive. And by taking the seat, it is meant that he dove into it, leaving everyone confused.

“Uhh…” Will was stuck, forced uncomfortably into the group. “Hi.”

Olive smiled at him. “I heard you like reading? Do you have a favorite book?”

He laughed nervously. “I, uh, not really. There's a lot of, uhm, books that I've, uh, read and it's just, it's hard to pick a, a favorite one.”

“Jesus Christ,” Chip muttered under his breath.

Olive seemed unbothered. “I'm the same way! There's just too many different books out there to say you like one the best. Do you have a favorite genre?”

“Science fiction. Uh, you?”

“I know it's vague, but I like classics! Jane Austen, Oscar Wilde, Jules Verne…. I really enjoy language.”

Chip’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it.

[UNKNOWN] what are you doing? This is Logainne.

He quickly added her as a contact and texted her back as Will and Olive kept talking.

[CHIP] thought I'd introduce her to a decent guy. Will’s a really nice guy, I swear.  
[LOGAINNE] why?

He frowned at the text. Why was he doing this? That was a great question.

[CHIP] I dunno. I think I still feel guilty about using Olive. Plus I know they're both single, and Will doesn't have a ton of friends to begin with. And you guys are being nice to me. I'm trying to be nice back.  
[LOGAINNE] you know, I'm glad that you figured out the sexuality thing finally. you seem a lot happier now. I don't know what you were like in high school, but just from classes you seem a lot better off than before.  
[CHIP] …  
[CHIP] thank you.

Chip looked up from his phone. “Whoops! I should get going. Class and shit. Bye, have fun without me.” He picked up his bag and hurried off, leave a flustered Will behind.

“I, uh, what time is it?” Will asked.

Logainne checked her phone. “One o-eight.”

“I should, I've got class. It was nice to, uh, nice to meet you two. Hope-hopefully we’ll see each other again sometime.”

“We've always got room at our table,” Olive said. “You're free to sit with us, if you want.”

“Yeah! Alright, uh, bye.” Will quickly left, shaking his hands to try and dispel the nervousness he felt.

Olive watched him leave. “He's sweet.”

“He is nice,” Logainne conceded. “Very anxious.”

“He's probably just shy. I hope he does start sitting with us. I liked talking to him.”

Logainne had no complaints. Will seemed like a nice guy. Quiet and awkward, but nice. Better than Chip had been, she supposed.

\---------

Chip made it to six o clock. At five thirty, he had left the campus and driven to town. Better early than late. He was so freaking anxious about this date. Leaf was so cute and sweet and perfect and Chip wasn't sure that he could match up to that. He and Leaf had casually known each other since high school, and their friendship had grown once Chip had started dating Marigold. And now his newly realized feelings had kickstarted his willingness to openly question his sexuality.

Okay, that was a lie Chip had told himself for almost five years now. Repressed high school Chip had seen the openly gay Leaf, fallen a little in love, and immediately denied it. His solution to get rid of his feelings was to go after Leaf’s twin sister. He thought that if he could get along with Marigold, then he could pretend he didn't like dudes. So he tried his best to transfer his romantic pining onto Marigold and asked her out. She had said yes, surprisingly. They dated for almost a year. Then they “did it”, and Marigold realized almost immediately after it that she wasn't into guys. Chip bit his tongue and accepted the breakup, trying not let the compressed emotions out in the process. Chip and the Coneybear twins had kept in touch over the years, and his attraction to Leaf had twisted his guts tighter and tighter until he could hardly stand it. His way of pretending that those feelings didn't exist was by pursuing his sexual attraction towards the multiple girls around him. That was less complicated. He liked having sex with women. But anytime someone asked him on a date or vise versa, it (consensually) turned into a sexual encounter.

This, though, was a date. Just a date. Just romance. He was about ready to explode from the built up feelings toward one of his better friends, but he was going to let it out slowly. He was going to learn more about Leaf in a more intimate way. He would wait until Leaf was comfortable for his first kiss with a guy. He didn't need to scare the poor guy off. It wasn't Leaf’s fault that Chip had so many feelings.

Thinking of Leaf - fuck, he was really hot without a shirt. That had thrown him for a loop earlier. They knew each other well, and Chip was fully aware of why Leaf had gotten surgery two years ago. But actually seeing his bare chest made Chip feel alive in a way that he had never felt before, like some secret of the world had been revealed to him. In a way, it had been. He was allowed to like guys. He could kiss guys, he could cuddle guys, he could go on dates with them, he could have sex with them. Chip was letting himself feel love for guys for the first time in his twenty years being alive.

Oh shit, Leaf was here and sitting across from him. Leaf smiled. “Hey,” he said gently.

“Hey!” Chip’s brain went into overdrive, taking in as many details as possible. He looked so cute! His clothes were tailored to his skinny frame - probably done himself - and the colors complimented him perfectly. His shirt was tucked in, his shoes were clean, and his hair was combed out of his eyes. Was this really all for him? For this date? Should he have cleaned up more? Chip had on a clean polo and jeans that fit, and his sneakers weren't falling apart. Was that good enough? Would Leaf be judging him for it?

“Pizza?” Leaf asked, gesturing toward the counter. They walked up and joined the line. “What kind should we get?”

Chip scanned the menu. “We both like pepperoni, right?”

“Pepperoni it is,” Leaf said. He reached for his wallet, but Chip stopped him.

“My invitation, my treat,” he said. Then he realized he was literally holding Leaf’s hand and had a mild heart attack. Was this moving too fast? It was an accident. Leaf would understand, right? “Sorry, I-”

Leaf giggled. “It's hand holding, Chip. I'm fine.” He laced his fingers with Chip’s. “We've known each other for years. We're close enough to hold hands at this point.” They took a step forward in line, with Leaf cheerfully holding Chip’s hand as Chip tried not to pass out. They finally ordered, Chip payed, and they sat back down at the table. “So…” Leaf said. 

Chip tensed up. What was he going to ask?

“What brought this on? I mean, I like it, but I thought you were straight.”

He sighed. “It's a long story. Like, back to high school kind of long story.”

“Well, I mean, we have to talk about SOMETHING on this date.” Leaf paused. “If you're comfortable talking about it.”

“I… think I've liked guys since I hit puberty, honestly. But my parents, and the people who I was friends with, and honestly our high school in general made me scared to do anything about it. I suppressed a lot of it. It made me feel guilty. I was taught that gay stuff was betraying Jesus and God and all my friends were really homophobic, so I kinda was too. I thought liking guys was a bad thing that I shouldn't do. I didn't want to lose everyone in my life because of it. And, I mean, I did like girls too, but not enough. Girls are cute and I like sleeping with them, but I just don't want to spend the rest of my life with one. I don't want to kiss one, or cuddle one, or marry one. And I thought...” he hesitated.

Leaf grabbed his hand and squeezed. “It's okay. I understand. It can be really hard coming out. Even just to yourself. I'm proud of you.”

“I've liked you since high school. I thought dating Marigold would help me get over you. That didn't work at all. But recently, I guess I just couldn't handle it. It was stressing me out, and it's better here than home about gay stuff. I actually-” Chip laughed. “I got in a fight with my roommate and my yelling did the coming out for me. But I don't give a shit anymore. I still have a few friends, I feel better, and, well…”

Leaf smiled softly, and Chip felt his heart melt a little more. “You're adorable,” he said, making Chip blush. “I've wanted to say that for awhile now. You're really cute. I like you, and I'm proud that you figured yourself out, and I'm so unbelievably happy that you want me.”

“I'm still figuring things out, honestly. But I'm going to get this relationship thing right. I want to love you so badly.”

Leaf leaned forward across the table. “I haven't had a lot of relationships to go off of, so I'm learning this too. And we've had it real different. I've always been open about being gay, and you've just come to terms with it. You've got a long history of dating and hookups. I've got pretty much nothing. But we'll get it. I know it.”

Chip felt himself move towards Leaf. This moment felt so perfect, worth every second of the harassment he had received. They met in the middle, their lips gently meeting. Chip knew right then it had absolutely been love he had felt for the last five years, and he grinned as they parted and looked at each other.

“I've wanted to do that for awhile, too,” Leaf said. “Cause your lips are so cute and soft.” He pulled Chip in again for another kiss and giggled when they parted. “You're great.”

Chip couldn't think of anything to say, so he just smiled at Leaf in a very hopelessly-in-love kind of way. He couldn't believe that he had just kissed a guy. It felt perfect. Leaf’s lips were rough and dry, and so different compared to everyone else he had kissed. If they weren't in such a public place, he would keep kissing Leaf just to feel those lips pressed against his. Then he thought about what other parts of Leaf he'd like to feel pressed against him. Well now his thoughts were off track and he had definitely fallen into a mental gutter.

Leaf finished off the last slice of pizza and reached for Chip’s hand, startling him out of his mind. “Wanna drive me home?” He asked.

“Yeah! Yeah, uh…” Chip moved to stand. His jeans rubbed against his crotch, and the friction brought a little hum out of him. Whoops. He was a little over excited about Leaf. Not good.

“Maybe if you're a gentleman, I'll give you a kiss goodnight,” Leaf teased. Chip flushed and he laughed. “Come on, I know you've done worse than a kiss on the first date. Don't get all flustered on me.” He paused. “Though you look real cute with your face all red.”

Chip groaned. “Leaf Coneybear, you are going to be the death of me.” Oh fuck, Leaf was going to see that he was hard when they stood up and there wasn't much he could do about that. 

“Our date doesn't have to end already, though!”

He knew, he knew that Leaf wasn't meaning it like that, but his brain was there and a lot of thoughts were flooding his head.

“I mean, we could get ice cream, or just walk around and talk for a bit!” Leaf beamed at him.

“Yeah! That-that sounds great.” He smiled back. “Could I- I'll be right back.” Chip bolted to the bathroom, placing him in the all-too-familiar situation of hiding in a bathroom stall with a stiffy caused by a guy. Fuck, his first date with Leaf and he was getting aroused already. He reminded himself that once he took care of it, he'd be fine. He could finish his date smoothly once this rough patch was covered up.


	6. Surprisingly, Even The Most Clueless People Catch On Eventually

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leaf doesn't always know what's going on. On occasion, he's out of touch with what's going on around him. But it would be impossible to not notice that something's up with Chip.

Leaf waited patiently at the table. Wow, Chip was cute. He had always been a little attracted to Chip, but he thought that the guy was straight. Then there had been the whole he’s-dating-my-twin-sister debacle. But after they broke up, he'd been attached to Chip. He and Chip were good friends, and of course Leaf didn't mind the view, and Chip had been so supportive when he had gotten top surgery. 

And they had kissed! He got to kiss Chip. Freaking. Tolentino. Leaf was about ready to swoon. Chip was adorable when he was flustered. It was fun, teasing him gently. He swore he had never been so enamored by someone so completely. Everything about Chip - his sense of humor, his laugh (gorgeous), the way he listened to Leaf blathering on about clothes and fashion - just, every little thing made him love Chip.

He had always been one to fall in love easily, but it always fell through. His crush was straight, or dating someone else, or not interested in him, or transphobic. Something always got in the way. It ached a little, staying single when he wanted so badly to love someone. But now he was with a guy who definitely liked guys, who was single and interested in him, and had supported Leaf despite his close-minded upbringing. Leaf stared off into space, thinking about how in love he was with Chip.

“Ready to go?”

Leaf glanced up. Chip stood next to the table, his hand resting on Leaf’s outstretched arm. Leaf grinned, feeling his face heat up. Chip was so cute! Ahh! “Yeah! Any place you wanna visit?” He stood and took Chip’s hand, enjoying how Chip flushed and shifted closer to him.

“I chose dinner. You can pick where we go next.” He turned a deep red as Leaf pecked his nose. An octave higher, he said, “Leaf….”

“Okay, okay.” He giggled. “It's hard. Your face is so cute, and now I'm able to kiss it all the time!” He kissed Chip’s cheek. “Can I just take you home so I can kiss your cute face?”

Chip almost choked on spit.

“I'm kidding.” He saw Chip’s expression and laughed. “I'm teasing, Chip. I know where your brain is going. That might be a little far for the first date.”

Chip rubbed the bridge of his nose and pushed his glasses back into place. “Oh my god Leaf, you're gonna kill me. Come on, where to next?”

Leaf thought as they left the restaurant. “Well, there's a place a few blocks over. I think Mari said it was on fifth street? She said it's got really good ice cream.”

“Aren't you lactose intolerant?”

He shrugged. “That hasn't stopped me yet. I think I'd die without dairy foods. And she said they've got alternative ones, but where's the fun in that?”

Chip hit the button on the crosswalk sign. “How is making yourself sick for ice cream worth it? It's good, but the pain…”

“Listen, I like milk a lot. Too much, really. Apparently I was limited on the amount of milk I could have as a kid cause I would drink milk instead of eating. Almond and soy milk are disgusting, and after that crappy cherry ice cream I had…” He shuddered. “The real thing is so much better.” As they crossed the street, Leaf swung their hands in time with their steps. “It's like asking you to not eat stuff with hot sauce.”

Chip gasped. “Sacrilege.”

“Exactly.” He looked at the sign. “Yeah, one more street over. It's somewhere along fifth. If someone dumped hot sauce on ice cream, would you still eat it?”

“Absolutely not. That sounds disgusting.”

“It is. Hot sauce on mint ice cream is not good. I threw up that night, I'm pretty sure.” 

“Leaf, how are you still alive?”

“Great question. Strong bones and dumb luck, probably.” They turned and headed along the row of shops. “Okay, it's got a pink sign and a big window with a cow etched into it. I dunno the name, but I know that.”

“Cow etching. Got it.” He scanned the row of shops across the street. “So how's business going?”

“Great! That article that Logainne wrote helped drum up some business, and the people in town seem to like me so far!” Leaf suspiciously eyed the businesses nearby, searching for the ice cream shop. “Mari’s doing great with the technical stuff. I don't understand math. I'm glad I waited to do this until she graduated. It's so much easier, and I had plenty of time to build up my inventory.”

“Yeah, Marigold. How's she doing? Still dating what's-her-face?”

“Arista,” Leaf reminded him, “and yeah, they're still together. Mari’s planning on proposing soon.”

“Really?” Wow, that was weird. His first girlfriend was planning on proposing? Wild. “Damn. Didn't see that coming.”

“I'm happy for her!” Leaf said. “They're great together. Mari’s lucky that she found her person.”

“Her person?”

He shrugged. “Soulmate is too strong of a word, but it's kinda like that? Your person, the person that you exist well with. They don't have to be lovers. Your person can be a friend too, cause friends are important. But they kinda just…” He searched for the right words. “They complete each other.”

“That's really sweet.” Chip squeezed Leaf’s hand. “You'll find your person. Don't worry.”

“I'm not,” Leaf assured him. “I'm twenty two. I've got plenty of time.”

“God, I always forget you're that much older.” He thought about his first relationship and suddenly felt a lot more uncomfortable.

Leaf noticed the sudden silence. “You okay?”

He nodded. “Overthinking. You know me,” he joked, “I'm either thinking too much or too little.

Leaf smiled faintly. When Chip looked away, Leaf studied him, concerned. He knew Chip fairly well, and him overthinking was never a good sign. He hesitantly let the matter go for now. Time to look for ice cream.


End file.
